Miso Salmon Recipe: How to Make Miso-Glazed Salmon

Miso-glazed salmon is salmon marinated in miso paste. Miso salmon is a saikyo yaki—a Japanese dish that involves marinating fatty fish in saikyo miso (sweet white miso from Kyoto), mirin, sugar, and sake. Saikyo yaki made with sablefish (black cod) or mackerel is traditionally grilled, you can also broil, bake, or slow-roast fillets when making miso salmon.

Miso is a fermented soybean paste from Japan that is a common seasoning throughout Asian cuisine. Miso soup may be its most familiar application, but it makes an appearance in everything from salad dressings to pickles and marinades. It’s even one of the crucial components of soy sauce. The history of miso traces back to its ancient Chinese counterpart, soybean jiang.

Saikyo miso is sweet shiro miso (white miso) made from soybeans and rice malt. Saikyo miso, which is the traditional choice of miso for Japanese miso-marinated fish, is lower in salt and sweeter than most other white misos.

Traditionally, miso is either dissolved directly into a broth (as seen in miso soup recipes and some kinds of ramen), or used as a spread, dip, or glaze. Mix this Japanese ingredient with sake and mirin to make a marinade for fish—the nutty flavors in the miso and the sugars in the marinade caramelize nicely in the broiler. Or, add a teaspoon of miso to your next salad dressing—mix it with little freshly ground ginger paste, two tablespoons of sesame oil, and a tablespoon of rice vinegar. Since miso is a fermented food, it will keep in the refrigerator for around a year.